Box-handling attachment for shelves.



J. R. JoNEs & Hh. w: NICHoLEs. BOX HANDLINGATTAGMBNT PQR 'sHELvEsn I Y APPLICATION FED PEBJ3`, 1969. l l l 94,878. Patented Nov, 23, 1909.

, B BHEETS-SHEET 1. 1 j]\ 6J l/ Zi i Y 9 f Z6 59 y 7.3 5g N L JJ j, A f 34 *si 235 25 a,

a vi t Y 2 Suufzntong,

J.4 N. JONES & H. W. NIoHoLEs.

Box HANDLING ATTACHMENT TOR sHELvTs.

Patented Nov. 23, 1909.

APPLICATION FILED 3, 1909.

a SHEETS-SHEET z.

Wi h1 aosaa d.

J. R. JONES & H. W. NICHOLES. BOX HANDLING ATTACHMENT FOR SHELVBS.

APPLIAT'ION FILED PEB. 3, 1909. 940,878. A Patented Nov. 23, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

" v r I, 'l dttwbnnp "whereby the mechanism can be tptickly set so' as to Mplace or remove a box at any de- .ject of the invention being to provide an vat the base oi the,apparatus and within operation ol depositing' a box upon a shell.

. UNTE STABS MPATENT UFFM) JOHN REECE JONES; 0F ROME, AND HERBRT WHITTER NICHOLES, 0F ATLANTA,

` GEORGXA.

BOX-HANDLING ATTACHMENT' FOR SHELVES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Y Patented Nov. 23, 'g

Application filed February 3, 1909. Serial No. 475,841.

To all tlf/mm it 'may concern.:

Be it known th-at we, Jol-1x R. Joxics and i Hi-:Rnnn'r V. XionoLrs, citizens of the United States, residing at Rome and Atlanta, respectively, in the counties ot' Floyd and Fulton; State otfteorgia, have invented a ne\v and useful Box-handling Attachment for Shelv s, ot' which the following is aspecitication. l

This invention rela-tes to apparatus for handling shoe boxes and the like, the obapparatus ot' this type tor use in connection with shelves on which boxes are stacked, the appa 'atus being adjustable to remove any one of the boxes from the shelves and being' also utilized .to place boxes at desired points upon the shelves.

Another object ot' the inyention is to provide apparatus ot' this character which can be manipulated by a person located at the base of the shelves, means being provided sired vpoint in the case.

A further object is to provide a novel forni of .Carriage 'lor conveying4 the boxes to and from their positions in t'ront ol2 the shelves.' there beine' means to automaticaltv locking the carriage against movement atteiit once assumes a position at a predetermined elevation.

A furtherobject' is to provide in connection with the carriage a slide 'tor use in diret-tiney boxes to and from the carriage after the said carriage has been brought. in position in front ot a predetermined shelt, said slide being actuated by mechanism located eoi'ivenient reach ot the operator.

Another object is to provide means carried by the carriage for preventing the withdrawal ot' a box with the slide during' the said means being controlled in its operation by mechanism mounted on theJ carriage.

A further object is to provide apparatus ot' this character which can be reajdily installed in connection With various forms ot' shelves` said apparatus being durable, etlicient/ in operation, 'and of suoli a nature as not to detractfrom the appearance of the shelves. l

lith these and other objects in view .the

vnumber to the number oi invention consists of certain novel details of t construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out, in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the pie' 'erred t'orin' of the invention has been shown.

ln said drawings: Figure l is a perspective view of theapparatus. Fig. 2 is'a front elevation thereof, portions of the tubular guide standards being removed and one ot' said standards being shown in section. Fig'. 3 is a section on line A-B Fig. 2, the slide on the carriage being shown partly projected beyond the carriage. Fig. t is a verti cal longitudinal section through the carriage and the parts thereon, the slide being shown in the same position as indicated in Fig. Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on line Cif-l) Fig. 2. Fig. (S is anl enlare'ed longitudinal section through a portion ot one of the tubular standards and through the hub ot the segment and the adjoining. parts oitl the carriag'e. Fig. T is a section through one of the tubular standards at the point. where en- `t ja, v 'ed by the stop pawl ot' thc carriage, said pawl being shown in elevation and the ad .joining portion ot the carriage in section.

Fig. S is an enlarged side elevation of the locking' dog in connection with the push-oil", therock sllia'tt of the push-ott being vshown in section. Fig. Sl is a plan view otthc parts shown in l-`i o. tion otono ot the gpidc )ars and its holding the ear beingsltowili in section. Fig. l1 is a horizontal section't'ltrotljfb the lower portion ot' one at tlie .standards 'dwing' a-'gt'ooved wheel and a portion ol its shaft in plan.

llctcriiing to the tigures by c'ha.'^acters ot' reference l desi'gi-i'aj esf a base rail designed yto be secured upon a s'lteltextending Jforwardly7 trom the case ot' shelves at' a point below tlic lowest shelt-r said rail beingv provided at intervals with notches tornied in the 't'ront edge thereof, these notches being equal in columns ot' boxes located upon the shelves7 and the distances between the notches being' equal to the width of said columns ot' boxes. nother rail 3 is located in front otl the caso ot shelves above thevuppermost shelf and this upper rail is engaged by gro'ived. wheels l extending upwardly from .the end portions ot` a truck 5 which. as shown in Figs. l and Q, is inverted. Said truck is supported upon the upper ends of revoluble tubular standards means, a portion dt the, plate engaged bv l0 is an elevaand 7 extending downwardly to the lower truck 8 of the apparatus, said lower truck being spirally there-around, the number of -these notches being equal to the number of,

' shelves in the case to lwhich the apparatus is applied.

'the lower truck 8 has tubular extensions 12 projecting upwardly therefrom and in which the lower portions of standards 6 and 7 are journaled. lhese casings are connected by a housingl?) upon the rear face of which is arranged a gear '14 secured to an actuating shaft 15.. Said actuating' lshaft extends through the housing'13 and 1s provided at'its front end with a crank 16 or any other suitable means whereby it can be conveniently rotated manually. TheA gear 14 meshes with a smaller gear 17 which is se cured to a shaft 18. Said shaft is journaled upon the rear face of housing 13 and is provided adjacent its ends with grooved wheels 18.v "lhese' wheels are disposed adjacent to slots 19 extending partly around the lower portions of the standards 6 and 7.

The lower truck 8 of the apparatus has a lever or handle 20 extending forward there from and ldesigned to be grasped for the purpose of shifting `theapparatus along the rails. A bell-crank lever 21 is pivotally con` neeted to the housing 13 below the handle 20 and has a stud 22 extending fromA one end thereof and designed to be seated in any one of th notches 2, there being a spring 23for holding the stud normally in position to' be automatically seated within one of said notches. It willthus be seen that by means of this lock the entire apparatus can be held in position in front of any one of the columns of boxes contained upon the shelves in front ofwhich said apparatus isilocated.

The standards 6 and 7 constitute guides for avcarriage which consists of .a cross-bar 24 havingfforked endssecured to side standards ,425, said standards being substantially Y-shaped as .indicated in Fig. 4 and prov vided at theirupperends with a baseframe 26, the sides of which are provided in'their inner faces with guide grooves 27. Apertured guide ears 28 extend laterally from the lower portions of the standards 25 and from the middle portions of the sides of base 26 and these ears are slidably mounted on the standards 6 and 7,. said standards however being free to'rotate within the ears.

Coiled springs 29 are secured to the sides of base 26, and additional coiled springs 30 are secured. 'to the lower portions of the stand- .nected to a handle 37 ards 25'. To each of the springs 30 is 'se-y y cured one end of a cord 31 which 4extends downwardly under the grooved wheel 18 thereunder, and thence through the slot 19 and upwardly within the adjoining stand-l ard 6 or 7. A grooved wheel 3 2 is' 'arranged at ,the upper end ofsaid standard, said wheel being journaled upon the upper truck 5 and the cord extends over this wheel and thence downwardly to the spring 29 to which itis secured. A counterbalance 33 may iff tudinally upon the standards 6 and 7 A disk 34 is secured upon the housing 13.

and is concentric with the standard 7, said disk being provided in its'peri hery with a series of notches 35, the num er of these notches being equal to the number of notches 114 and also to the number of shelves in the case. Said notches may be numbered consecutively as shown in Fig. 5 and any one of them is designed to be engaged by the nose of a locking lever 36 which is pivotally conand held normally in engagement with disk 34 by means spring 38. Handle 37 extends tixedly from a collar 38 which-is secured in any preferred manner, as by means of a set screw 39, to the'standard 7. It will be understood that when the lever 36 is disengaged from the notched disk 34 the handle 37 can be utilized for partlyY rotating standard 7 and by releasing the lever 36 its spring 38 will throw it automatically into engagement with the notched disk and thus hold the standard 7 against further movem/ent.l 'Ilhe upper guide ear 28 of,the carriage which is slidably mounted on standard 6 has journaled within it the hub 40 of. a toothed .segment 41, said hub being feathered upon the standard 6 andbeingheld against displacement within the ear 28 by means of'a collar 42 which is fastened to the upper porsaid.

of a

4e5 A lengths and to thus movethe carriage longitionlof the hub in any preferred manner as -l by means of a set screw. It will be apparent therefore that'while the segment is capable,

of moving along the standard 6 withthe carriage it-is necessarily caused to rot-ate when said standard is rotated. A handle 43 is secured to andI extends radially .from the lower portion of thestiandard 6 and constitutes means for imparting a partial ro-..

tation'to the standard,

A shaft 44 is j ournaled within the carriage .at a'point below the base 26 and :has l a gear -4:5' thereon which meshes wthfaud receives motion from the toothed segment 41 it therefore beingl understood that the partial rotation of standard and the segment' 41 will produce one or more revolutions o't' the shaft 44. A sprockety Jfti is secured to shaft 4t and motionis transmitted thereshaft ($8 has' a notch T12 therein solocated A larger sprocket is alsosecured to the shaft 4t) and 1s engaged by a chain fil extending around ei idler sprocket 52.

sprocket 5() isulocated under the front pori tion of the-base 2G while the idler is located under the rear portion thereof. These 2 two sprockets are so located as to bring! the upperjplyof thel chain 51 close to the base.

26, said ply beinev attached to an ear {ii-i extending' downwardly from a cross-head 54.-

Said cross-head has its ends slidahly mounted withm the guide `grooves QT 1n base 26 and its upper faeeis secured to a plate 55 constituting` a slide. One end of this plate is secured to the. cross-head 5l, while. the other end rests 'upon one end of the base :iti and is designed to slide thereon. there beine longitudinal grooves 56 alone' the edges of the plate which are engaged b v guide earsv 57. These ears are located at the upper ends of longitudinally7 slotted plates slidahly mounted on the frame 26 and bt'infe;- e'uided in any preferred manner as b'v meansY of e. bolt 59 extending' through the slot and by means ot' g1iitle ribs G0.

As shown in Fig. if) the slide may be provided with a series of longitudinal slots (il so as to have the appearance of a grate. this construction considerably reducing the weight of the device. A flange (52 extends upwardly from the slide at that: end thereof' adjacent the cross-head 54, and this flange, constitutes a followerl as hereinafter set forth. A rear ardly extending lug (it is preferably struck from this Hangt: and operates in the. imnmerhereinafter stated. tendine' rearwardly from the cross-head 54 is an arm (34, on which is mounted a button designed to swinel about a vertical pivotand which is normally parallel with the di-l rection of niovement. of the slide 55. stop lug tt however is arranged upon the arm (H and serves to hold the button G5 at right angles to the line of movement of the slide when desired 4 Brackets ti't' are mounted upon the hase Qt' at the sides thereof adjacent the frontof the ealriage. and 'journaled Wilhinthen-'e bracket.Q are 'the ends of a rdek-shaft. (3S provided at. an intern'iediate point with an arm (S9. disposed in the path ot' the luer (3f-i hereinbefore referred to. Extending! from the end portions of the 'ook-shaft. is a push-ott' Tt) preferably in the form of a. wire bail the intermediate portion of which is nent to form a head 71 arcuate m side view as mdithat when the head T1 is at such an elevation as to permit the insertion of a box thereunder,'a spring-messed locking dog T3 will 'be seated within the notch and prevent the Vhafty (3H from rotating'. This dog' T3 has a toe Tt extending downwardly1 therefrom and at one sido of the path of button (3:3, it bein;l understood however that when said button is turned laterally against the stop lug' 'titi it is in position to move against toc Tlas hereinafter set forth. A `age-plate TJ is arranged longitudinally upon the base QG at one side of the slide, .3.3; the ends ot' said plate being preferably turned laterally as shown at 76. Thiwplate constitutes an abutment against which the, boxes are designed to be placed priorl to beine' elevated to their positions upon the shelves.

One ot' the guide ears 2S of the carriage has an enlargement, 7T provided with a recess 78 inwhich is mounted a springpressed pawl7 T9. This pawl is held normally in contact with the stand rd 7 and is so shaped that when it is brought into register with any one ot the notcheh llit will springinto said notch and preventy further upward movement of the carri age.

As stated, the normal position of the button (i5 is on a line'parallel with the direction of movemnt of the Slide It will be apparent'y therefore that under normal conditiftliis this button will not. operate to release the rock-shaft (5S from the doe; '73. Said shaft will be normt t held against rotation and with the bail shown in Fig. 4.

TWhen it is desired to remore a box from one of the shelves the handle 2G is grasped' by an operator and the lever 9.1 shifted so als to become disengaged from the rai 1. The entire*apparatus can then be shilfed along,y the rail until the leverl can be placed in engagement with the notch 2 of a predetermined' column of boxes upon the. shelves. A fter theiapparatua has thus been located and locked the locking lever 216 is disengaged from the disk 34 and the standard 7 is partly rotatethhy means of handle 57. The locking lever-3&6 is thus brought into position to engage the notch corresponding' Willi the shelf on which the box to be, removed is located. For example., il the box is to be removed from the third she the handle'l? is turned around until the lever 3G can be placed in engagementwith the notch numbered The notch 11 which is third from the bottom of standard T will thus he broughtinto the path ot' the pawl 79'. rPhe operator then rotatesl the crank 16 and the gears 14: and 17 and shafty 1S will eauee the grooved wheels 18 to actuate the cords (i nu eoA 26 and will carry 31. .The carriage will therefore be slid upwardly along the standards 6 and 7 until further upward. movement is prevented by the pawl '79 springing into the notch 11 heretofore referred to. Vhen this operation occurs the slide 55 will be in exact hori-v zontal alinement with the top of the third shelf, By then grasping the handle 43 and swinging it in one direction the standard 6 will be caused to partly rotate and the toothed segment 41 will rotate the gearing mounted on the carriage. The chain 51 will therefore be shifted so as to cause its upper ply to push the slide 55 longitudinally upon the base 26, the inner edge of the slide. being broughtv into 'position between the third shelfV and the box thereon. Said box will thus assume a position upon theslide, and, by reversing the movement of the handle 43, the slide can be drawn haelt/on tothe base the box therewith. The carriage can then be lowered by reversing the movement of the crank 16 and the box will of course move downward therewith.

Then the. slide 55 is in its normal position upon the carriage the arm 64 extends under the rock-shaft 68 and the button'65 isthus located in front of the dog 73. Should it be' desired to return the box to the shelf the standard 7 is adjusted in the manner hereinbefore described, the box is placed on the slide and against the gage-plate 75, and

`reception of the cords 31, said the button 65 is shifted laterally against the stop 66 so as to project 'across the dog 73. The carriage is `then elevated b v means of crank 16 and its Vupward movement will cease as soon as t'hepavl 7S) comes into engager-nent with the notch 1l in. the path thereof. As soon as the carriage has reached the limit "f its V712.1 ,JnQx'ement the standard 6 is partly rotated by means of handle 43, and the segment 41 will vthus shift the gearing so as to push the slide 55 and the box thereon, on to the shelf at the proper point. .-\s the cross-head 54 moves along the base 26 with the slide the button 65 pushes against the toe 74 of dog 73 and shifts said dog out ot' engagement with the rock-shaft 68. The head 7l of bail 70 is thus permitted to drop on to the top'of the box. As the movement of the slide and box upon the base continues said box will slide under the head 71 until it. assumes its proper position on the. shelf. whereupon the head 71' will drop back of the box. Then the 'n1ovement of the slide is reversed by reversing the n'iovem'ent of handle 43 the box will not move oli'pof the shelf therewith but will be held against movement by the head 71. The button 65 is thus brought against the toe 74 of the dog 7 3 and shifted back-to its normal position thereby and subsequent to or during this movement of the button the lug 63 presses against the arm 69 and returns the rockeshat and the 4bail 'ZOto theirlnormal obviously, it ca nnot again be used for .the

purpose of placing a box on any one of the shelves unless the button 65 is first shifted as before stated.

By providing spring connections between the cord 31 and the carriage there is no danger of breaking lthe cord should the movement of the crank 16 continue after the carriage has been brought to a sudden stop by the pawl 79. Moreover, in lieu of providing slots 19 in the standards 6 and 7 for the cords can be extended under the lower ends ards and it is thus not necessary to slot them.

The apparatus herein described will be found very useful for the pur ose of removing boxes from a .series of shellifes, and is designed more especially as a substitute for the rolling ladders ordinarily employed.

By means of this apparatus boxes can be removed from shelves, no matter how.` high they may be, without requiring the salesman to reach or climb for them.

The apparatus can lbereadily applied to shelves of different construction, and, owin to its neat and compact construction, wil not detract from the appearance of the shelves. It can be very easily manipulated and, by keeping the boxes arran ed accurately in columns, no ditliculty will ever`be experienced in properly removing the boxes or placine them in position.

lt is of5 course to be understood that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts Withoutrrle parting froln the spirit vantages of the invention.

that is claimed is 1. In apparatus of the class described a revoluble guide standard, a carriage mounted for sliding movement thereon, a locking member lcarried by the carriage, and nonalining means upon the standard and shiftable successively in position to coperate with said locking member to limitI the movementof the carriage.

2. In apparatus of the class described a revoluble ed for sli( member upen the carriage, non -alining means upon the standard at different elevations, and means for'actuating the standard to position any one of said means in the path of the locking 'member to limit themovement of the carriage.

3. In apparatus of the class described a revoluble guide standard, a carriage mounted for sliding movement thereon, a locking member carrled by said carriage, non-alining movement thereon, a locking mg means upon the stamardr.v at different of the stand or sacrificing the ad- Guide standard, a carriage mount-v ICC elevations for cooperating with said locking member to limit the movement of the carriage, and means for shifting said standard to bring said means into operative position.

d. ln apparatus of the class described a revoluble guide standard, a carriage mount-y ed for sliding movement thereon. a locking member upon the carriage. meansl uponthe standard and at ditferent elevations for cooperating with the lockingmember to limit the movement of the carriage, said means being disposed out ofv alinement, means for shitting` the standard to bring any one of said means into operative position, andan indicator coperating with said, last mentioned shifting means.

5. In apparatus ot' the classA described a revolublc guide standard havingr non-alining notches disposed at ditterent elevations. a carriage mounted for sliding movement upon the standard, a locking member upon the carriage for automatically engaging any one of the notches, and means tor rotating the standard to bring any one of said notches into thepath ot' the locking member.

t3. in apparatus of the class 4described a revoluble guide standard having non-alining` notches disposed at different elevations, a carriage mounted for sliding movement upon the standard, a locking member upon the carriage tor automaticallyl engaging any one of the notches, and means for rotating the standard to bring any one of said notches into the path of the locking; member, an indicator, and means for engaging the indicator to lock the standard against movement.

T. ln apparatus of the class described a revoluble guide standard, a carriage mounted for sliding movement thereom'means 'for actuating the carriage,.a slide upon the carriage, and means operated by the rotation of the standard for shifting the slide with relation to the carriage.

8. In apparatus of the class'descrihed a revolnble guide standard, a carriage slidably mounted thereon, a slide upon the carriage, means for rotating` the standard, and means actuated by said standard for shifting the slide with relation to the carriage.

9. ln appa atus ot' the class described a revoluble guide standard, a carriage mounted to slide thereon, a conveying member movably mounted uponl the carriage, means for rotating the standard, and means operated by said standard for shifting the conveying member.

10. 'In apparatus of the class described a revolnble guide standard, a carriage slidably mounted thereon. a conveyor upon the carriage, means operated by the rotation et" the standard for shifting the conveyer .upon the carriage.

11. ln apparatus ot the class described a rcvoluble guide standard, a carriage slidably andere 'by the other standard vfor mounted thereon, a conveyor upon the carringe, means operated by the rotation of the standard for shitting the oonveyer upon the carriage, a box-holding device connected to the carriage and above the conveyor, means for locking said device out of operative position,` and means operated by the conveyor for releasing said device.

12. ln apparatus of the class descriloedaI carriage, a conveyer movably mounted thereon, a box-holding device movably connected to the carriage and overhanging the conveyor, means for locking said device out ofoperative position, and means operated by the conveyer for releasing said device.

13; ln apparatus of the class described a carriage, a conveyor movably mounted thereon, a holding devicenovably mounted upon the carriage and ovcrhanging the conveyor, means for locking?r said device out ot' operative position, and means adjustably mounted upon the conveyer for releasing said device during the movement of the conveyer in one direction. v

14. In apparatus of the class described a base, a conveyor movably mounted thereon, a.. holding device movably connected with the base and overlianging the conveyer, means for locking said device out of operative p0- sition, means adjustably mounted on'the conveyor for releasing said device during the movement of the conveyor in one direction, and means for returning said adjustable releasing means to its initial position upon the movement of the conveyor in the opposite direction.

15. ln apparatus of the classA described upper and lower trucks, guide rails therefor, revoluble standards connecting the trucks, ai carriage slidably mounted upon said standards, separate means tor rotating the standards, cooperating means upon the carriagel and one ot' the standards for limiting tlm` upward movement of the carriage, a conveyor upon the ,arriage and means actuated shifting the conveyer.

16. In apparatus ot' the class described upper and lower trucks, rails therefor, revoluble guide standards connecting the trucks, a carriage slidably mounted on the standards, means extendingr through the standardsl for actuating the carriage, cooperating means upon the carriage and one of the standards respectively for limiting the 'upward movement of the carriage, a conveyor upon the carriage, means actuated by the other standard for shifting the conveyer, a normally inactive push-oil device mounte upon the carriage, and means actuated by the conveyer for shifting said device into operative position.

17. ln apparatus revoluble uide standard, a carriage slidably mounted tiereon, a slide upon the carriage,

of the class described i means operated by the rotation of the stand- 1' ard to bring any one of the said'notches into ard for shifting the slide upon the carriage, the path of the locking device, an elastic aca push-off devlce pivotally mounted upon i tuatingmeans for shifting the carriage upon the carriage and ovehanging the slide, the standard.

5 means for normally locking said device outv In testimony that We claim the fore-:going 20 of operative position, and adjnstalolel means 'as our own, We have hereto affixed our signa-A nponthe slide for releasingsaid device durtures in the presence of witnesses. Y

Jlilogn'the moifement of the slide 1n one direcp JOHNREECE JONES;

Y 1.0 18. In apparatus ofthe class described a HERBERT WHITTER NICHOLES' y Vitnesses:

' revoluble guide standard, said standard hav- L. HUME TALBERT,

lng spiral series of notches therein, a carriage slidably mounted upon the standard, JAS. M. TEACHER,

va spring-controlled locking member upon y A. XV. MART1N .15 the carriage, means for actuating the standl W. F. CALLAN. 

